Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, behind popular series such as Call of Duty and Diablo, continues to be scrutinized by regulators. The agreement, which recently received the approval of the European Commission and South Korea, may have finally encountered a new obstacle. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued an injunction to prevent it from completing the deal. Here are the details.New hurdle in Activision Blizzard acquisition
For those who don’t know, Microsoft expected the deal to be completed by the end of fiscal 2023, which ends this month when Microsoft first announced the new acquisition. The FTC, skeptical that the deal will be completed this week, has asked a federal judge to stop the deals between the two companies before June 15.
In addition, the FTC noted the recent historic success of Diablo IV, voicing its concerns about cloud gaming and retail sales in an injunction. We can say that this decision strengthens the position of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which opposes the acquisition.
To recall, the FTC had previously filed an antitrust suit against the deal and scheduled a hearing on August 2. It should be noted that this timing is ahead of the stipulated date for the agreement. However, both Activision Blizzard and Microsoft responded positively to the injunction, stating that they would get positive results from the new decision.
So much so that Microsoft’s president and vice president, Brad Smith, thinks taking the deal to federal court will speed up the process. Considering the responses to regulators’ concerns, this is not surprising. Niketim Microsoft has announced new deals to port its games to multiple cloud gaming platforms, including GeForce Now.
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